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Friday, July 26, 2013

The Mean Streets of Cadbury

Last week I made a stop in Pacific Grove which is the real version of Cadbury by the Sea, the Monterey peninsula town in Yarn to Go. The real and fictitious towns are not exactly the same. I have moved things around, changed street names and made up my own businesses. However, I’m pretty sure anybody who knows the area would recognize Pacific Grove as being the model.

I have a yarn store in my town and there is a real one in Pacific Grove. Of course, I went into the real one while I was there, and of course, I didn’t leave without buying some yarn and some interchangeable knitting needles.

I stopped at Asilomar, the hotel and conference center that has a remarkable resemblance to Vista Del Mar. I spend so much time there in my head when I’m writing, going to the real place felt like going home.

I picked up a copy of the Pacific Grove newspaper to see what was going on. My favorite section is the Cop Log. In Cadbury there are lots of murders, but not much other crime. Pacific Grove doesn’t seem to have a lot of murders, judging by the edition of the paper I saw, nor a lot of heavy crimes. Here are some samples from the paper.

The top story was about a bicyclist that hit a bump in the road and fell off his bike. Someone called for medical assistance.

Another report said that two males were reported arguing near a fountain. It was reported as a physical fight, but turned out not to be.

A resident was burning debris in their backyard and the fire captain advised them there was a city ordinance against it. The fire was put out with a garden hose.

A dog owner didn’t pay for grooming and bathing services and the police were contacted.

The final one I’m going to mention had the heading Sleepy Burglar. A residence was broken into, but nothing was taken. The evidence of the break in was a broken window and crumpled bed covers.

In the book I’m writing now, I have a cop answering a report that someone has jumped in with the sea otters at the Monterey Bay aquarium. It sounds like it fits right in with the truth.

Planner, the house in the picture has a sign in front of it explaining it's history. It belonged to a Dr. Hart. It even says so in stained glass above the door. It's from the late 1800s as are some of the other buildings along the downtown street. The Red house restaurant aka the Blue Door has a plaque describing it's history. It, too, is from the late 1800s.

Pacific Grove has a lot of interesting buildings, though frankly I never really noticed until I started working on the new series. One of the great things about writing is that it makes you notice things and particularly details.